Fine Grind Cafe

37 James Street

St. Catharines, Ontario

905-348-3214

When checking out places to go for a coffee in St. Catharines you don't have to go far on James or St.Paul street to find a cafe or bistro with alluring signage and seating (some have added a patio on the street...very unique).  Neil and I chose by default a lovely little place called Fine Grind, the write up online steered us in the right direction and we were so happy.  Our greeter/owner was a smiley guy (didn't catch his name) that answered all my questions and spent time explaining about Jim the coffee guy that is his source locally for fair trade/organic beans based out of Niagara Falls.  Neil and I both ordered the *gasp* bottomless cup and a cookie.  I asked about vegan treats and foods and he provides both due to demand.  How wonderful is that? 

We took our seat at the back of the store on the couch (dopple ganger of our own) and our drinks were brought to us as we proceed to add the wifi password to our various devices!  All around us are odd bits of art work, paintings and carvings to keep you interested and a book shelf of reading material ! 

We drank our coffee, ate our cookies and complemented the baristas, there may have also been a rousing fist-bump for a coffee shop well found! Thanks Fine Grind Cafe! 

1)coffee-$1.50 per cup, $2.50 bottomless 9/10

2)roasted-locally roasted, organic and fair-trade 9/10

3)service- 10/10 fast, friendly, brought to us

4)assessibility-8/10 metered, street

5)flavour- 7.5/10 Guatemalan, medium roasted

6)Eco-friendly- china cups, paper for take out 8/10

7)cup size- 8/10

8)food- vegan choices, cookies were very good 8/10

9)ambience- 10/10 music, comfort, quiet, service, books, conversation

10)wifi- 10/10 free

*overall- 8.75/10 so fantastic!

Homegrown Hamilton

27 King William St.
Hamilton, ON

Facebook.com/homegrownhamilton
Instagram.com/homegrownhamilton
Homegrownhamilton.com

Coffee*Cuisine*Community

Homegrown is in an interesting part of Hamilton where there are great coffee shops very easy to find. If you haven't been to Homegrown, there is a parking lot directly across from it, don't park there like I did because its ridiculously expensive and there is plenty elsewhere. That aside, I was pleasantly surprised by the welcoming feel in the entryway of this cafe (art, roaster, food counter and lots of space) and enjoyed the ambience immediately. I found my eyes were drawn all around the cafe to see all the sights, interesting people of all types and enjoy the sunlight flooding in the front windows on this weekday afternoon.

I like to feel like each person can make a small difference in the world and the owners of Homegrown clearly feel this way as well, you can buy fair-trade coffee, and the latest wonderful social responsibility is the addition of suspended coffee. I bought a suspended coffee today; the small purchase of a coffee in advance can be given to someone who doesn't have enough money or is having a tough day. Its wonderful!

I visited Homegrown today to have a coffee, eat some lunch and buy some of their home roasted coffee beans, and was happy that i did. It was really quite lovely how no matter how busy they got, you never felt rushed (I found I was trying to rush myself😀) and they were very happy to answer any questions for me. We had homemade sandwiches, coffee and desserts and it was really delicious. I love to think that in Hamilton we have wonderful places like this for us all to enjoy and support independent places of business, and I highly recommend that everyone does.

1) coffee- small $2.25 large $2.75 8/10 (Mexican medium roast)
2) roasted- in house roasted and fresh 9/10
3) service- relaxed, friendly and warm 8/10
4) accessibility- street parking is cheaper but harder to find 8/10
5) flavour- was a bitter thin, I would like to try again 7.5/10
6) Eco-friendly- glass or compostable cups, vegan choices and soy milk 9.5/10
7) cup size- big and glass 8.5/10
8) food- freshly made to order, vegan/vegetarian choices, 8.5/10
9) ambience- relaxed, inviting and smells amazing 8.5/10
10) Wifi- available upon request for free 10/10

*overall 8.5/10 a super place to enjoy coffee, fresh food and live music in the evenings!!!

I deal Coffee- Yonge Street

3336 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ont.
M4N 2M4
(416)364-7700

www.idealcoffee.ca
Twitter: @idealcoffee
Facebook: I deal Coffee


I haven't gone too far from home to do coffee reviews, but when I can, its super awesome when my instincts take me to a great location. Maggie and I needed to be in Toronto and found ourselves on Yonge Street in apparently a very "right wing" part of the city. I normally don't travel in business areas often but we happened upon a fabulous location of Ideal coffee. This place is the third location of this little Roastery and we were welcomed in with a smile and barista with panache! Brett was working all on her own and was dishing up great looking lattes, cappuccinos, espressos and treats with speed, finesse and friendly suggestions. Maggie and I were completely taken with her ability to win everyone over immediately. I always ask if I can take pictures and try not to post anything that wouldn't reflect the cafe in a positive light, as well as ask questions in order to complete my review and hopefully learn what I can. I bought a bag of coffee called the Red Sea made from Ehiopian Sidama beans (yum!) and a t-shirt which may add to a new obsession. Ideal coffee on Yonge Street was comfortable, had many beans to choose from and a great atmosphere (charmingly hipster?). Maggie and I both agreed our visit was amazing and the vegan muffin we split was delicious too.

1) coffee- $2.25 $2.75. 9/10
2)Roasted locally- on location 9.5/10
3)Service- friendly, quick, creative 9/10
4) accessibility- main access with parking nearby 9/10
5)Flavour- fresh and full flavour 9/10
6) Eco-friendly- organic, free trade with options for china cups/compostable paper 9/10
7) Cup size- medium and large choices 9/10
8) Food- tasty with veggie options 9/10
9) Ambience- relaxed, friendly and artsy 8/10
10)Wifi- yes 10/10

*over all 9/10

C.J.'s - Cafe on Bronte

2416 Lakeshore Rd.W.
Oakville, ON
L6L 1H7
905-465-0411
Cj@cjscafeinbronte.com

Check out what's happening at www.cjscafeinbronte.com!

I went shopping downtown Oakville on the Monday of march break with some friends of mine and my daughter for something completely unrelated to coffee, but somehow it became completely successful with a lovely place called C.J.'s on Lakeshore off Bronte. This little place was recommended by a local shop lady and was great. We were greeted by a free wifi sign, vegan/health related book shelf, signs for supporting women in Peru and an aroma that was wonderful. I was impressed by the free parking (not often found in Hamilton unless you know where to look;) as well as plenty of seating for groups of people to meet and chat. C.J. The owner was there to answer any questions and offer an array of 4 coffees to taste, teas to order and a hot chocolate with whipped cream piled high!

1) Coffee- $2 for regular and $2.25 for large ($1.25 and $1.50 for refills) 9/10
2) roasted locally? - London, Ontario (fireroastedcoffee.com) 8/10
3) service- the owner C.J. Was friendly and accommodating 8/10
4)accessibility- Bronte and Lakeshore, free parking (no evening hours but 7 days per week) 8/10
5) flavour- medium roast, lovely taste 7/10
6)Eco-friendly- china cups, organic/fair trade, London Ont. 9/10
7) cup size- 2 sizes, big cups with cheap refills 9/10
8) food- vegan wraps with veganaise, many other tasty treats for everyone (I didn't have any)
9)ambience- friendly, funky, artistic, books, plenty of seating, 2 patios 9/10
10)wifi- yes 10/10

*overall 8.5/10 super place in the heart of Oakville! <3

http://www.cafefemenino.com/

Espresso Cafe

102 king Street west,
Dundas

Periodically you go somewhere and can't understand why it's not popular. I understand that I usually seek out places that are not busy, have no lineup and has "elbow room". I also understand that I tend to be a coffee lover where I can take my time and enjoy it. On this particular coffee quest, Neil and I were in Dundas and wanted to check out its finest, more famous cafe on King Street, I had been there before but hadn't reviewed it. We walked in, looked around, looked at each other and walked back out and went to the outdoors store, Adventure Attic. We couldn't find a seat let alone a place to stand...not my thing.

Neil and I stopped into the Beanermunkey chocolate shop, bought a couple treats to have with our potential coffee (incredible chocolate by the way) and continued down King Street to 102 King Street West. The Espresso Cafe. We weren't even positive it was open (weird on a Saturday?). The Espresso Cafe was empty, the place looked great, tons of good food, lots of choices, nice girl behind the counter, just no people. On this occasion, Neil and I were amazed, what was wrong? I wanted to speak to the owners, what was their plan? This really did make us ponder the episode of Portlandia where one coffee shop is crazy busy, and the other one up the street is dead...the main exception would be the coffee isn't roasted in house. This cafe really is quite lovely, it's coffee was tasty, friendly atmosphere and roomy. I will be going back to the "popular" cafe on a weekday, but really hope that The Espresso Cafe gets a few more visitors.

All the items were there:

1) fresh coffee (not fresh roasted, but freshly brewed and tasty). 7/10
2) roasted locally? No (Club A coffee)
3) service - 8/10
4)Accessibility- 8/10 (main road, lots of parking)
5)Flavour - 6/10
6)Eco friendly- soy milk available, china cups for seating indoors 8/10
7)cup size- 7.5/10
8) food- lots to choose from all home made, and they have pie!
9)Ambience-7/10 (just needed comfortable seating and cool tunes)
10) wifi - yep 10/10

*overall rating of 6/10 because of the roasting issue. Take a book, have some pie and enjoy :)

Second Cup, Upper James

1405 Upper James St.
Hamilton, On.
905-381-9270
Www.secondcup.com

When it comes to coffee, I might have a problem. I love the smell, taste, colour and feel of a good cup of coffee. I also need to remember that I need to have some limits too. I think that this blog has been good for me to try new places, find new places that roast beans and learn new things that you don't get from a (sorry people) Tim Hortons. I just don't want a terrible coffee anymore. I will drink Tim's if I don't have access to anything else but I would just prefer my freshly ground, lovely tasting coffee in my favourite mug with the chip on it.

On the occasion of going to Second Cup, it was the chosen spot for its location and a great spot to talk. I tend to forget about Second Cup because its not very close to my house and its seems mainstream enough that I would rather for to a little "hole in the wall" instead; but I am always impressed with this coffee shop. I ordered a decaf. on this occasion, because it was later in the day and I need my beauty sleep before 2 in the morning. I received a friendly greeting and a freshly made coffee, in a nice china mug (immediately Wendy approved). I had lots of comfortable seating to chose from and had a lovely quiet chat with my companions.

1) coffee - small $1.75, medium $1.95, large $2.30 (pricey but fair trade and freshly made) 8/10
2) roasted locally - 7/10 (corporate shop)
3) service - 7.5/10 (friendly and quick)
4) accessibility - 7/10 (lots of parking but really tough to get onto Upper James)
5) Flavour - 7/10 (full, nice flavour but slightly bitter)
6) Eco-friendly - 7.5/10 (fair trade but limited recycling available)
7)cup size - 7.5/10 (nice variety of china cups, discounts for own cups)
8) food - not reviewed but looked tasty
9) ambience - 8.5/10 (clean, quiet and good music with a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere)
10) wifi- 10/10 (free and offered )

* this is really the "Starbucks" for people who don't like crowded shops, and long term seat takers.
* overall 7.5/10 it's pretty great.

Parkermann's Fine Tea Shop

47 King Street East
Stoney Creek, ON
(905)930-8832
Parkermanns@cogeco.ca
Www.parkermanns.com

Although Parkermanns is a tea shop by nature, I love this quaint, and amazing little shop in the heart of my home town of Stoney Creek. I believe the first time I went to Parkermanns (it was on the cover of the Stoney Creek News) in September 2012, it wasn't officially opened yet...they were taking donations to meet costs and donate proceeds to charity. I was blown away by the beauty of the china, the shininess of the new machines and the rows and rows of teas on the walls...in short,it's amazing. I had tea the first few times I went but coffee is truly where my heart lies, so I asked about coffee and was so happy I did :). Parkermanns has some of the best coffee available, the beans are freshly roasted in Hamilton at the Redhill Coffee Roasters and delivered regularly and available for purchase (which I have done many times).

When you enter Parkermanns you are always welcomed with a smile, conversation and tons of knowledge about tea if you want to know. Rooibos is caffeine-free, did you know that? Well if you didn't, you could look it up with the wifi in the shop *gasp*! You have a choice between lovely china tea cups and compostable cups, and you need not worry because they recycle or compost all the trash and are happy to help!

1) coffee - $1.77 for medium and $1.99 for large 9/10
2) roasted locally - Redhill Coffee Roasters 9/10
3) service - 9.5/10 (with a smile and welcoming engagement)
4) accessibility - 2 hours free parking on King Street 9/10
5) Flavour - full, robust and not bitter 9.5/10
6) Eco-friendly - 10/10 (recycling, composting, china available and locally purchased coffee and treat from Cake and Loaf on Dundurn)
7) cup size - 9/10 (variety and good size with good price)
8) food - 9/10 (salads, quiche and sandwiches made in house and treats from Cake&Loaf
9) ambiance - 8/10 ( fun music with limited seating)
10) wifi - yes!!!!!! 10/10

*overall rating of 9/10 for a wonderful place that is open 7 days a week...special nights advertised on Facebook (tea reading, knitting nights, book clubs and fundraising).

Brown Dog Coffee Shoppe, Waterdown

Anyone that knows me well knows that I have a chocolate lab named Seamus. A few years ago Neil and I started to frequent the Brown Dog Cafe in Paris because location-wise it was conveniently located at the end of our canoe route from Cambridge or Glen Morris to Paris. I normally would get dropped off in Paris with Seamus and walk the 7 km to Glen Morris and Neil paddles the opposite direction. It turns out we travel at approximately the same speed, makes for an awesome outdoors experience for all 3 of us. On the best occasions we would meet up after at the Brown Dog Coffee Shoppe. We love the Brown Dog, the vibe is relaxed, the coffee roasted to perfection and they make their own food with a focus on "made for you" apple fritters, not to mention the brown dog tie in with our Seamus :D

The Waterdown location is fairly new to me since starting to work in the town last April. It maintains the same wholesome food, fritters and coffee. The exception with this store is that has broken away from the antique-y building the St. George and Paris locations have, not a problem, just not as cool.

When you order anything other than coffee at the Brown Dog you need to expect to wait a bit, not usually an issue but its not Tim Hortons with a quick "drive-through" speed. On this occasion I ordered soup and coffee. My soup was really good, a tasty zucchini and tomato with herbs and my coffee was excellent as usual :)

1) ceramic mug - $1.75 (medium take out) - 8/10 average price
2)roasted beans - 8/10 in house
3)service - 9/10 quick and friendly
4)accessibility - 8/10 parking lot is close but small
5)flavour - 9/10
6)Eco - 8/10 ceramic mugs available, no soy/almond milk
7)cup size - 8/10 good size take out cups with ore ceramic
8)food - 9/10 vegetarian choices, 1/2 sandwiches and wholesome ingredients
9)local? Not really
10)wifi - available upon request

*lovely, clean and comfortable seating with couches and space for people meeting friends! Love it and the dog references in the store. I just wish I could take my brown dog:)

Mulberry Street Coffee House

193 James Street North, Hamilton
(905) 963-1965

It looks like I am keeping it in the family for the last two blogs. My daughter Maggie and I found ourselves on James Street on Sunday morning thinking that a coffee while we wait is the perfect thing to do...well it was because it was the only place open >:(. I am pretty sure that I say this every time I go to James Street on a Sunday or Monday (my only days off) and I "pinky swear" it won't happen a gain. That being said, I had an incredible experience at Mulberry. I already knew I loved the place, it's treats and ambience but I hadn't stopped to appreciate the coffee before. I had a cafe Americano as usual, Maggie had a (let me get this straight) sugar free, vanilla chai latte made with soy, as well as we shared a vegan macaroon. I would normally give Mulberry a glowing review, the coffee was superb, the ambience was cool, comfortable seating, clean bathroom, music was just the right volume....BUT. The server forgot my macaroon, the latte was put down so crazily that it slashed all over without any apologies to Maggie for getting it all on her hand, there was no offering of napkins....just really odd. I am glad that it wasn't my first time in because newbies would be intimidated. I just found the bald lady kinda funny (no smiles).

1) price? Damn forgot to check....anyone remember?
2) roasted beans in house? No, doesn't matter
3) service - 6/10 (unusual for the place, messy service and forgetful today...party last night?)
4) accessibility - no problem, one street over - 7.5/10
5) flavour - 9.5/10 (amazing flavour and in a Christmas mug...sooooo good)
6) Eco friendly - 9/10 (china cups for in house, paper cups for take out are made from reclaimed paper:)
7) cup size - 8.5/10 ( I had a single shot and the cup was really nice, not huge though)
8) food - 9/10 (our macaroon was delicious and full of nuts and coconut and big)
9) ingredients local - not what we had but I think their food is if in season
10) ambience - 8/10 ( not rated as highly today, the servers are normally really bubbly and awesome, no one seemed happy today....tired?)

* Maggie and I agreed the art was cool on the walls and the restaurant was really clean and splendid

* I love the fact that Mulberry and it's sister cafe My Dog Joe both have free wifi and encourage people to come an stay for a while!